To Break Away
by A Shade of Grey
Summary: “She tries to tell herself that this is just a passing fancy, but she knows deep down that this strong a love will last forever.” Cedrella Black/Septimus Weasley


_**Disclaimer:**_ I wish I owned it, but I don't.

_**Summary:**_ "She tries to tell herself that this is just a passing fancy, but she knows (deep down) that this strong a love will last forever." Cedrella Black/Septimus Weasley

_**Note:**_ For those of you wondering who in the world Cedrella Black and Septimus Weasley are, Cedrella is one of the people mentioned as being burned off the Black family tree because she married a "blood traitor," i.e. Septimus Weasley. They are (very likely) Arthur Weasley's parents, though J.K. Rowling never confirmed this.

Also, this is not officially part of the 1sentence challenge on livejournal, mainly because I don't _have_ a livejournal. Still, I liked the concept, and I don't really have the time to write anything more in depth, so I decided to give it a try. (:

This is dedicated to **Avindara Nirvene **for encouraging me to actually finish what I'd started and being just plain amazing. (: Hope you like it, An!

**to break away**

(cedrella black/septimus weasley)

_ring_

"I can't," she tells him over and over again, but when she tries to give back that little gold band—so plain and simple, a constant reminder of his near-poverty—her body refuses to cooperate, to relinquish its prize.

_hero_

He sees her becoming more and more like a proper Pureblood woman every day and longs to rescue her from that fate, but how can he rescue someone who does not want to be saved?

_memory_

She knows that this… _thing_ with Septimus can never amount to anything, but maybe—just maybe—it will provide some comfort to her in her old age, a memory of a time when she loved and was loved.

_box_

She sneered when she first heard that the entire Weasley fortune, once so vast, could now easily fit into a relatively small box—but that was before she fell in love with him.

_run_

"C'mon, you know you want to," he coaxes, and it is true, she does want to, more than he can ever possibly imagine, but proper, Pureblood young ladies do _not_ go running through meadows, no matter what the circumstances.

_hurricane_

He came into her life with the force of a hurricane, destroying all of her carefully crafted beliefs and leaving her a little broken inside.

_wings_

Every time she sends her owl, Paracelus, out with letter, she feels a pang of envy; why can _she_ not be free to soar amongst the clouds, as well?

_cold_

The floorboards creak and the windows are too thin to keep out the cold, but it's _their_ home, and that makes it perfect.

_red_

As she, with her glossy black hair, gazes at the sea of redheads about her, she realizes that she has never felt like more of an outsider in her life.

_drink_

He really must love her, he muses, holding back her hair as she empties the contents her stomach into the bushes outside his house—but he's still never going to let her try Firewhiskey again.

_midnight_

As the clock chimes for the twelfth time, she all of a sudden becomes weary—of the party, of the people, of this entire lifestyle.

_temptation_

One side of his mouth quirks up in a half-grin when he catches her staring at him across the room, and he looks so adorable that it's all she can do not to jump him then and there, in front of all her friends (can she really call them that?) and family.

_view_

She likes to pretend that, if she leans a little to the left and squints out of her window in just the right manner, she can make out his house in the distance.

_music_

She has no ear at all for music, which used to bother her, until—"It's okay, I'm not very good with the piano, either."

_silk_

He'll never be able to buy her fancy, silk dress robes or expensive jewelry, but as long as he loves her, she doesn't care.

_cover_

"Are you cold?" he asks, and even though she isn't really, she nods her head, because she loves the way his cloak feels draped over her shoulders (almost as if he were wrapping his arms around her).

_promise_

"I'll love you forever."

_dream_

For a moment she gives in to the dream, with its cozy little house, loving husband, and happy and carefree children, but in the end it hurts too much and she has to let it go.

_candle_

"You are never to see that boy again," her mother hisses, her aristocratic face looking particularly forbidding and harsh in the candlelight, and with that one sentence, Cedrella feels her entire world fall to pieces.

_talent_

Her family "loves" her because she can sing, dance, sew, cook, and entertain, etc. with the utmost ease; he loves her in_ spite _of these talents.

_silence_

The first time she whispers (softly and shyly, with none of her usual haughtiness) that she loves him, he says nothing—but then, he doesn't have to, because she already knows how he feels.

_journey_

When she admits that she's never been in the muggle world before, he immediately promises (as if she is distraught rather than indifferent to the matter), "I'll take you there one of these days; it'll be our own little journey."

_fire_

His hand (accidentally?) brushes against hers, causing a trail of fire to course through her veins and her heart to race wildly.

_strength_

It takes all of her strength to walk through that door, but once she does, it's as if a huge weight has lifted of her shoulders; she feels light, buoyant, and… _happy_.

_mask_

He's the first person to ever see the lonely, uncertain girl beneath the arrogant and aloof façade.

_ice_

She is ice through and through—cold, indifferent, and inflexible in her ways—but even ice has to melt eventually.

_fall_

He is always there to pick her up when she falls.

_forgotten_

Their eyes meet across then ballroom, and suddenly the rest of the world ceases to exist, forgotten for one peaceful moment.

_dance_

He is one of the worst dance partners she's ever had (did no one ever teach him that it's rude to step on a lady's foot?), but he's her _husband_ now, and nothing—not even her numb feet—can ruin this moment for her.

_body_

The first time that he holds her in his arms, he marvels at how perfectly their bodies fit together—almost as if they were made for one another, two halves of a whole.

_sacred_

Her first wedding vow is to never regret her choice—and she never does, because who is she to break such a sacred promise?

_farewells_

"I'll miss you," Charis whispers (softly, oh so softly, so that Cedrella can barely hear her), and Cedrella smiles tearfully back; both know that this is goodbye, that come tomorrow they will no longer _be_ sisters.

_world_

He wants to marry her, have kids with her, grow old with her—live happily-ever after with her, in other words—but how can he ask her to give up her entire _world_, however distorted it may be, just for him?

_formal_

"Goodbye, then, Mr. Weasley," she says stiffly, looking the very picture of decorum, and he has the urge to scream, because it's _him_ that she's talking to, not some uptight pureblood suitor, and he doesn't deserve such formality.

_fever_

"You don't have a fever, do you?" he asks with concern, leaning his forehead tenderly against hers, unaware that the heat of her skin has nothing to do with sickness and everything to do with the way his warm eyes roam over her body.

_laugh_

"He makes me laugh," Callidora once told her when she asked how her older sister could possibly marry—let alone love—a portly man twice her age, but it's not until this moment, bantering playfully with Septimus, that Cedrella finally understands.

_lies_

Lying is almost second nature to her by now, so why does it burn her tongue so much when she hisses, "I don't love you" to Septimus?

_forever_

She tries to tell herself that this is just a passing fancy, but she knows (deep down) that this strong a love will last forever.

_overwhelmed_

The day her father burns her Hogwarts acceptance letter ("All women need to know are household spells, and your mother can easily teach you _those_."), she decides it's high time she ran away, and she makes it all the way down the street before—"Are you okay?" _he_ asks, and after helping her to her feet, he patiently listens as she sobs out her life story to him.

_whisper_

"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley," he whispers in her ear, and her mouth reflexively curls into a smile—but she does _not_ giggle, no matter what he later claims to have heard.

_wait_

When it takes her nearly three years to conceive a child, she is ready to hate the damned thing for not coming sooner, but once she holds her (perfect) little son in her arms, she realizes every second of that unbearable wait was worth it.

_talk_

It never ceases to amaze her that he actually _listens_ to her when she talks, because she's never known anyone else to do that.

_search_

His whole life, he feels a little lost, like he's searching for something that he desperately needs but can't find—then he sees her, and suddenly he feels complete for the very first time.

_hope_

He does not—_cannot_—promise her that everything will turn out alright if she agrees to marry him, but at least with him she can hope.

_eclipse_

He teaches her things that her parents never bothered to tell her—not just spells, but "muggle knowledge," about numbers, geography, science, and astronomy.

_gravity_

When he kisses her, gravity ceases to exist—or, rather, it changes direction, because there's no other explanation for the way she inexorably falls into his arms.

_highway_

He always thought that she was naturally good at everything, but then he offers to teach her to drive on a highway, and... well, needless to say, he has never been so terrified in his entire life.

_unknown_

Sometimes it scares her how much she _feels_ when she's with him, because she's never known such intense emotion before; love is sentiment all but unheard of in the Black family.

_lock_

Once upon a time, she thought she had securely sealed her heart away behind an impenetrable lock—then he came along, and proved her completely wrong.

_breathe_

For a moment, it's all too much—she can't breathe, can't think, because _what is she doing here?_—then the moment passes, and she firmly says, "I do."


End file.
